Spring compressor



May 21, 1929. L. c; SULLIVAN Er AL y 1,714,113

SPRING COMPRESSOR Filed lay 23. 192'? LE. 5uu.mur- R. EM u2 Patented May 2l, 1929.

umran f, STATES PATENT orifice., j

LoUIs c. sULLIvAN AND RALPH E. MULLEN, or Das aromas, IOWA.

SPRING COMPRESSOR.

Application led May 23,

The principal objecty ofthis invention is to` provide -a coil spring compressor to facilitate the removal and replacement of internal combustion motor valve springs.

More specifically, 'the object of this invention is to provide a valve spring compressor comprising two hinged jaws designed to engage the `spring to be compressed at their free ends and a slidable member engaging the jaws and capable of holding them in a closed position when slid forwardly thereon.

A further object is to provide a valve spring compressor that will securely hold the spring inv a'closed position withoutdanger of the "spring accidentally disengaging' itself from the tool.

A still further object is to provide a spring compresso-rthat may be quickly and readily adjustedv to springs of various lengths.

A still further object is to provide a tool for compressing springs that is economical in manufacture and dur-able and efficient in use.

These and other objects will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

Our invention consists in the construction, arrangement and combinations of the various parts of the device, whereby the objects contemplated are attained as hereinafter more fully set `fort-h, pointed out in our claim and illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which: l

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of our com plete coil spring compressor ready for use. Fig. 2 is a side sectional view of oui` tool with aspring in its jaws and is taken on.`

line 2 2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a side view of our tool with an internal combustion motor valve spring in its jaws and illustrates the operation of the same when removing or replacing the spring on the valve stem of a motor.

Y Fig. ,4 is a cross sectional view of the tool taken on line 4--4 of Fig. 3 and more fully illustrates its construction.

Fig. 5 is a cross sectional view taken on line 5 5 of Fig. 2 and more fully illustrates the construction of the free ends of the jaws that engage the spring desiredl to be compressed.

We have designated the upper jaw of our device bythe numeral 10 and the lower jaw These two jaws are a hinged together at their rear ends vby the 1'927.. Serial No. 193,620.'

upper jaw 'having inwardly extending ears 12, the lower jaw having inwardly'extendmg ears'13, and a 'single pin 14 passing through the ears as shown in Fig. 4. 'The pin 14 extends back around the' hinged portion to forma ring 15 which Vmay be used to hang the tool -up'when not in use. VEach of these jaws is of channel form by having inwardly'extending side walls 16. The forward end of each of these jaws however, is free from any end walls in order to allowv the easyinsertion of a coil spring between` and 21 respectively. In order that this tool may be easily inserted or withdrawn to compress a valve spring 22 without interfering with the shoulder 23 of the motor block the forwardend portion of the upper jaw 10V extends iirst inwardly and then outwardly. The numeral 24; designates a depression ad` jacent the marginal edge of the notch 17 in each of the jaws to form a seat for more securely holding vthe spring -n the jaws 85 l when the same is` compressed. This is espe-k cially desirable when inserting a valve stem washer-25 with the valve spring. By this construction, it will readily be seen that if a valve spring is placed between the free ends of the jaws l0 and 11 andthe jaws are placed and held in a closed position, the valve spring will be compressed, in which state, it may be easily removed or replaced on the valve stem. The two jars are formed with alining longitudinal slots l26 in which is a bolt 27 slidably mounted, having the head 28 engaging the outer side of the lower jaw and a washer 29 engaging the outer sideV of the jaw10. This washer 29 is held on the end of the bolt by a key 30v extending through one of the holes 31 in the bolt. The numeral 32 designates an inwardly extending flange on theV marginal edge of each of the slots 26 for strengthening the tool and providing a suitable bearing in which the bolt may slide.

lVhen it is desired to compress a spring, it is merely necessary to slide the bolt to the rearof the tool, place the free ends of the jaws over each end of the coil spring and slide the bolt in its slots toward the free ends of the jaws. By the tendency of the jaws to open there will be enough friction relative to the jaws and the bolt that the bolt will stay in any position it is placed in the slots 26, thereby holding the spring in compressed condition until the bolt is slid backwardly on the tool. To facilitate the sliding of the bolt in its slots, the jawsinay be is slid backwardly and forwardlypin its slots.

The jaws of the tool may be made of any suitable metal.

It should be noted that the side walls 1G extend well to the forward end of each of the jaws, thereby preventing the coil spring frolnslipping sideways out of the saine.

Although we `have described our tool especially adapted to the compressing of valve springs on internal'combustion motors, it may be successfully used on other springs desired to be compressed and held in com pressed condition.

Some changes may be made in the construction and arrangement of our improved spring compressors without departing from the real spirit and purpose of our invention and it is our intention to cover by our claim any modified forms of structure or use of mechanical equivalents which may be reasonably included within their scope.

We claim:

In a device of the class described, two aws having their rear ends hinged together, each of said jaws being formed with a longitudinal slot, a pin extending through said slots and having holes in one of its ends, a head integrally formed on its other end capable of engaging the outer side of one of said jaws, a washer loosely mounted on that end of the pin having said holes and capable of engaging the outer side of the other jaw, and a key capable oflentering any one of said holes.

LOUIS C. SULLIVAN. Y RALPH E. MULLEN. 

